Highway trivia

Ever wonder about those highway markings?

•The State DOT typically uses three types of paint: water base, polyester or epoxy.

•It takes approximately three (3) minutes under ideal temperature and moisture conditions for the paint to dry. Motorists are requested to stay in their lane, and don't drive on the lines - or they'll get stripes on their car.

•Pre-formed tape is used for intersection markings including arrows, directions, crosswalks and similar directional indicators.

The DOT generally uses

•16 gallons of paint per mile of line, (multiply that by four to get the amount for two edge lines and a double solid center line).

•73,600 gallons of paint per year.

•1,338 55-gallon drums per year.

To make the paint reflective at night, millions of tiny glass beads are mixed into the paint.

•96 pounds of glass beads for every lane mile.

•441,000 pounds of beads each year or 220 tons.

Some facts about the road lines:

•The white and yellow lines are four (4) inches wide on state roads and six (6) inches wide on expressways.

•There are four inches between the two yellow lines

•The dashes are 30 feet apart and 10 feet long.